Program of Inquiry for The International School of Älmhult 2013 – 2014

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Program of Inquiry for The International School of Älmhult 2013 – 2014

PYP Class

Who we are

An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health;

human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures;

rights and responsibilities;

what it means to be human.

Where we are in time and place An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind;

the relationships between and the

interconnectedness of individuals and

civilisations, from local and global perspectives.

How we express ourselves

An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express our ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

How the world works

An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

How we organise ourselves

An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of

organizations; societal decision-making;

economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.

How we share the planet

An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

Pre- School 3-4 years

Central idea: Every day I can learn about who I am and what I can do.

Key Concepts: Form

An inquiry into:

 My physical characteristics

 What I can do

 My feelings, likes and dislikes

 How I am growing and changing

 How we care for ourselves

Central idea: Every family is special.

Key Concepts: Form, Function

 My family

 How we describe families

 Roles and

responsibilities within a family

Central idea: Songs and rhymes give us pleasure and help our imaginations grow.

Key Concepts: Form, Connection

Related Concepts: Music, rhythm

 Our favourite songs and nursery rhymes

 How songs and nursery rhymes make us feel

 Basic rhythms

Central idea: Water has various forms and uses.

Key Concepts: Form, Responsibility An inquiry into:

 The different forms of water

 How water can be changed, and how it changes other things

 How we can use water

 Floating

 Why water is important

 Ways to play in water

 Being safe in water

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Central idea: Animals and people interact in different contexts.

Key Concepts : Connections ,perspective, responsibility.

 The different roles animals play in peoples lives.

 Suitability of particular animals for specific functions.

 Our responsibities for the well being of the other living things.

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of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health;

human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures;

what it means to be human.

in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind;

world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

Central idea: Our five senses help us learn about the world around us.

(People experience the world by using their senses.)

Key Concepts: Form, Function, Connection

 Our senses

 Using our senses

 How our senses help us to communicate

 How our senses keep us safe

Central idea"Every family has a history, and every family celebrates their culture in different ways."

Key Concepts: Change, Perspective, Connection

 Childhood memories of my parents and grandparents

 What it was like when they were children

 My own childhood memories

Central idea: Stories teach us, give us pleasure and help our imaginations grow.

Key Concepts:

Connection, Perspective

 Our favourite stories

 Stories from around the world

 What we learn from stories

 Creating and presenting our own stories

Central idea: We organize our lives around the seasons

Key Concepts: Form, Causation, Responsibility

 Seasons here where I live

 Observing the weather

 How we change our activities in different seasons

 Seasons other places

 How seasons affect plants and animals

Central idea: We are a part of our school and community.

Key Concepts: Function, Connection and change.

 Our school

 Places people work

 People in our community who help us

 How we get around Taking care of our community

Central idea: Farms produce food for all of us.

Key Concepts:

 Farm animals

 How farms work

 Using farm products

 Different farms in different places

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PYP Class

Who we are

An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human

relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.

An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

Central idea: We are alike and different in many ways.

Key Concepts:

Causation, Reflection An inquiry into:

 How we are alike

 How we differ

 How I treat others who are different from me

Central idea: Homes take different forms in different cultures.

Key Concepts:

Reflection, Connection An inquiry into:

 Why we need shelter

 Types of homes

 Different kinds of shelters in different places

 Helping take care of our home

Central idea: We can share our stories and feelings through drama and dance.

Key Concepts:

Reflection, Form

 Noticing characters’

feelings in stories and dances

 How we tell a story with drama

 How we can express how we feel by dancing

 How we help someone understand what we want to say using drama and dance

Central idea: Light is all around us and affects what we do.

Key Concepts: Form, Causation

 Light and dark

 Day and night

 Working at night

 Uses of light

 Making shadows

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Central idea: All Living things in the ocean are part of an ecosystem.

Key Concepts: Form, Responsibility

 Things that live in the water

 Different water creatures in different places

 How to care for an aquarium

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An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human

relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures;

rights and

responsibilities; what it means to be human.

An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind;

PYP 1

Central idea: Relationship develop when we learn about ourselves and how to interact with each other.

Key Concepts:

Responsibility, form, causation

 The friends and people I have known

 The importance of friends

 How we interact withour friends and family

 Forming and maintaining good relationships

Central idea: Places have cultural and geographical difference that

distinguishes them apart from others.

Key Concepts: Form, Connection

 Where my family comes from

 Special things about where you have lived.

 Comparing the geography

 Geographical wonders

Central idea: People express themselves through writing and telling stories.

Key Concepts:

Reflection, Form

Our favourite authors and why we like them The deliberate and effective

constructions of a story

Different of ways of sharing stories

Central idea: Plants are a life sustaining resource for us and living things.

Key Concepts: Function, Connection

 The parts of a plant that we eat

 The conditions necessary for plants to grow

 The variety of ways in which these foods can be prepared safely

Central idea: All products start with an idea.

Key Concepts:

Causation, Change, Function

 How ideas are born

 How an item is designed

 The steps involved in making an item

Central idea: We share our world with many tiny creatures.

Key Concepts:

Connection, Responsibility An inquiry into:

 The types of mini beasts

 Where mini beasts live and what they need to survive

 How mini beasts connect to other living things

 All living things go through a process of change

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PYP Class

Who we are

An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health;

rights and

PYP 2

Central idea: The choices people make affect their health and wellbeing.

Key Concepts: Form, Responsibility, Causation

 What it means to have a balance lifestyle

 How the choices we make affect our health

 Different sources of information that help us make choices

Central idea: The earth is part of a vast solar system.

Key Concepts: Form, Causation

 The earth’s place in the solar system

 Other planets in the solar system

 Exploring space

Central idea: Our choice of heroes expresses what we value.

Key Concepts:

Reflection, Perspective

 Role models and why we value them

 Why we should develop our own gifts, talents and interests

 How personal strengths can be applied to help others

Central idea: Materials have different properties that let us use them in different ways.

Key Concepts: Change, Form, Causation

 How we describe materials

 Solid, liquid and gas

 What we can do with different materials

 How to do an experiment with materials

Central idea: Groups of people often set up rules to help everyone have a safe and good life.

Key Concepts:

Responsibility, reflection

 Each person’s rights and responsibilities

 School rules and why we have them

 How groups or countries make rules

Central idea: Climate, geography and resources affect the way living things exist in their environment.

Key Concepts:

connection, form An inquiry into:

 How human interaction with the environment can affect the balance of systems

 Ways in which organisms are interconnected in nature

 Interdependence of ecosystems

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of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health;

what it means to be human.

An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express our ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making;

PYP 3 Central idea: Our bodies

are made of many parts that work together.

Key Concepts: Form, Function

 Identifying body systems and parts

 Functions of body systems

Central idea: Human migration is a response to challenges , risks and opportunities and has an impact personally and on world.

Key Concepts: Change, connection, perspective

 Types and purpose of migration throughtout time.

 Migration stories and journeys

 The effect of migrations on our community

Central idea: Traditions and folklore help to give identity to a group of people.

Key Concepts: reflection, connection

 Traditions from religion

 What folklore is and how it is passed from generation to generation

 How traditions reflect what people value and how they live

Central idea: Air and weather have properties that can be observed and used.

Key Concepts:

form, function ,connection An inquiry into:

 The properties of air and water.

 How air and weather are used by people.

 How people are affected by air and weather.

Central idea: There are many different ways of measuring time, used in various cultures and times in history.

Key Concepts: Change, function, connection

 Ways of measuring time

 Why we measure time

 Different types of calendars and where they are used

 How Earth’s movements relate to measures of time

Central idea: Animals are endangered due to natural and human activity

Key Concepts: causation, responsibilty

An inquiry into:

 Which animals are endangered

 Why do animals become endangered species

 Actions we can take to prevent animals becoming

endangered or extinct

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PYP Class

Who we are

An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human

relationships including families, friends,

communities and cultures;

rights and

PYP 4

Central idea: To live together in harmony, we must understand our differences and similarities

Key Concepts:

Form, perspective, reflection

 Our personal and family beliefs.

 The beliefs of other people.

 Our rights and responsibility towards the belief of others.

 The ways in which beliefs

areexpressed and celebrated.

Central idea: There are benefits and

consequences when humans explore.

Key Concepts: Form, Connection, causation An inquiry into:

 The world’s famous explorers

 Where, how and why they travelled

 How the explorer’s discoveries influence our lives today

 Mapping and instruments for navigation

Central idea: Artists throughout history have depicted the world around them and their feelings about it in their art works.

Key Concepts: form, perspective

 What art is

 How we express ourselves through art everyday

 The different ways artists express themselves

 How artists influence the world in which we live

Central idea: Disaster causes change in communities and impacts physical and social structures.

Key Concepts: change, causation, responsibility

 Types of natural disasters

 The physical and social effects of natural disasters

 How we manage the consequences of natural disasters

Central idea: Travel and tourism impact our lives.

Key Concepts:

Function, responsibility, connection

 Why people travel

 Changes in transportation over time

 How increased travel has affected the way we live

 How travel affects intercultural understanding

Central Idea: Children worldwide encounter a range of challenges, risks and opportunities.

Key Concepts: Form, Perspective, reflection

An Inquiry into:

 Challenges, risks and opportunities that children encounter (local and global)

 How children respond to challenges, risks and opportunites

 Ways in which individuals and organizations work to protect children from risk.

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of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human

relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.

PYP 5

Central idea: Personal well-being is dependent on a complex balance of interconnected factors.

Key Concepts: change, responsibility

 The concept of “wellbeing”

 Factors that contribute to wellbeing (physical, mental, social and spiritual)

 Effective decision making into wellbeing

? Factors that contribute to wellbeing during adolescence

Central idea: Myths exist to explain beliefs and values as well as the natural world.

Key Concepts:

perspective, causation, reflection

 Types of myths

 Characteristics of myths

 The functions of myths in ancient and Nordic civilisations

Central idea: Advertising influences our choices.

Key Concepts:

form, causation, function An inquiry into:

 The use of

persuasive language, images and sound in advertising

 The effects of advertising on our everyday choices

 The connection between

advertisement and the target group

 The influence of the media on our decision making

Central Idea: Inventions have changed the world.

Key Concepts: Function, Causation

Inquiry Points:

 The reasons for inventors inventing

 The specific contributions of inventors in history

 The ways in which inventors have shaped their society and future societies

Central idea: In our world today, people have rights and responsibilities.

Key Concepts:

connection, responsibility

 Who decides what our rights are

 Rights in our host country

 Concepts of democracy

 Responsibility of citizens

 The United Nations

Central idea: In a world of limited resources, people use systems to allocate goods and services.

Key Concepts:

Responsibility, function, reflection

 Making fair and informed choices about limited resources

 How communities access what they need

 The difference between needs and wants